Category: NASCAR Cup PR

Talladega Event Info:
Date: Sunday, April 21
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Talladega, Alabama
Format: 188 Laps, 500.8 miles, Stages: 60-60-68
TV: FOX
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 10:30 a.m., Qualifying (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 3 p.m. ET, Race (FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• Talladega hosts its first of two race dates this weekend as the Cup Series embarks on its third Superspeedway race of the 2024 season.
• Chris Buescher carries the team’s best Speedway finish of the season thus far – a ninth-place result back in Atlanta in race No. 2 of 2024.
• In the Talladega spring race a year ago, both RFK cars finished inside the top five with Buescher coming home third and Keselowski fifth.
• Overall Jack Roush has eight wins at Talladega including five in the Cup Series.

6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: Castrol Edge

• ‘Month of the Military Child,’ an initiative run through Brad’s Checkered Flag Foundation, continues this weekend in Texas. Katherine Kinard will ride along on the No. 6 on the passenger side name rail as part of the campaign meant to recognize a military child’s name during each race in April.
• Katherine – daughter of Lt. Col. Jonathan Kinard – was born into the Air Force in 2005 and is now on her sixth duty station and seventh school. She spent five of hear 18-year life overseas and will soon enroll at Mississippi State University to study bioengineering.

17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Fastenal

Keselowski at Talladega
Starts: 30
Wins: 6 (2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021)
Top-10s: 14
Poles: —

• Keselowski enters the weekend as the winningest active driver at Talladega with six wins in the NCS, tied for second all-time with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
• Since 2014 Keselowski has four wins – two each in the spring race (2016, 2021) and two each in the fall race (2014, 2017). He’s coming off a fifth-place finish last spring, and crashed in last fall’s event.
• Keselowski won his first-ever start at Talladega back in 2009 in the No. 09 car, and again won the spring race three years later in 2012.
• He has an average starting position of 12.1 with 14 starts inside the top-10.
• Keselowski also made five Xfinity Series starts at Talladega with one win (2010).

Buescher at Talladega
Starts: 17
Wins: —
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —

• Buescher makes his 18th Cup start on the high banks of Talladega this weekend where he has three top-10s. He’s coming off his best finish to date at Talladega, a P3 result last spring. He finished sixth twice, first in the 2020 spring race, and again in the 2021 fall event.
• Buescher has an average starting position of 25.5 with a career-best 10th starting spot in this race a year ago.
• He also made a pair of NXS starts in the No. 60 with finishes of second (2014) and sixth (2015).

RFK Historically at Talladega
Cup Wins: 5 (Mark Martin, 1995, 1997; Jamie McMurray, 2009; Matt Kenseth, 2012; Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2017)

• Running Clear Across Alabama: RFK has seen its fair share of success at the Alabama track, amassing 285 starts, eight wins, 46 top-fives and 97 top-10s across NASCAR’s three major touring series. Roush machines have also tallied seven poles, including three in cup action, and have led more than 1500 laps.
• Winning in Greenbow: RFK has won in all three of NASCAR’s major series at Talladega. The team won its first race at Talladega in the NCS event in the spring of 1995. Former RFK driver Mark Martin won for the organization in all three series at the 2.66-mile oval. Most recently, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. piloted his Fifth Third Bank Ford to victory lane four years ago when the NCS rolled through Talladega for the organization’s eighth win at the historic track.
• Fastest Chicken in the South: Former RFK driver Mark Martin won the fastest Cup race ever recorded on May 10, 1997 at Talladega piloting the No. 6 Ford. Martin, who held off NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, started from the 18th position and led 47 laps en route to the victory. The race saw 26 lead changes and had an average speed of 188.354 mph.
• Tale of the Tape: RFK has started 226 NCS races at Talladega with 80 top-10 and 39 top-five finishes along with three poles. Former drivers Mark Martin (1995, 1997), Jamie McMurray (2009), Matt Kenseth (2012) and Stenhouse are responsible for RFK’s combined five Cup wins and overall a Jack Roush Ford has led 1537 laps at the 2.66-mile track.

RFK Talladega Wins

1995-1 Martin Cup
1997-1 Martin Cup
1997 Martin NXS
2006 Martin Truck
2009 Ragan NXS
2009-2 McMurray Cup
2012-2 Kenseth Cup
2017-1 Stenhouse Cup

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Texas: Keselowski earned a P2 finish in Fort Worth after driving into the top-5 late, while Buescher finished 15th – his sixth-straight top-15 result.

Points Standings (17: 13th, 6: 17th): Buescher remains P13 through nine races, while Keselowski jumped one position to 17th.

Harrison Burton and the No. 21 Freightliner Mustang Dark Horse had an encouraging run in Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, leading the race at one point and putting themselves in position for a good finish before being collected in a crash during the first attempt at an Overtime finish. Their 28th place finish did not accurately reflect Burton’s and the Freightliner team’s performance in a race that saw the yellow flag fly on 16 occasions for 72 laps.

Burton started 29th and ended the first 80-lap Stage in 34th place, one lap behind the leaders.

In the second Stage, Burton and the team worked their way back onto the lead lap following a caution period at Lap 102 for a multi-car crash.

The Freightliner team made a pit stop during a caution period at Lap 114 and joined the top 25 by Lap 130.

When another caution flag flew for a crash by Josh Berry, Burton stayed on the track while others made pit stops and lined up seventh for the ensuing restart, at Lap 143.

Burton held his own in the top 10 for the remainder of Stage Two, finishing seventh and earning four Stage points.

The team elected to stay on the track during the caution period following the end of the Stage and moved up to third place for the Lap 173 restart.

Burton made a move to the inside and took the lead on the opening lap and held it for seven circuits.

As drivers with fresher tires overtook him, Burton continued to run in the top 10 until Lap 192, and he was in 12th place when he made a green-flag stop at Lap 199.

He returned to the track in 33rd place and began reclaiming spots. After another stop he was in 24th place for a restart with eight of the scheduled 267 laps left to run.

When yet another wreck sent the race into Overtime, Burton was in 21st place for the restart but was involved in an incident with Kaz Grala that brought out yet another yellow flag.

After a pit stop for tires and fuel, Burton returned to the track in 32nd place and drove up to 28th by the time a wreck by Ross Chastain on the second attempt at an Overtime finish froze the field on the white-flag lap.

Burton and the team now head to Talladega Superspeedway for next Sunday’s GEICO 500.

Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glenn Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the WoodBrothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glenn’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Harrison Burton in the famous No. 21 racer.

Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 – Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, TX. – April 14, 2024

AUSTIN CINDRIC No. 2 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

START: 8TH STAGE ONE: 14TH STAGE TWO: 23RD FINISH: 25TH POINTS: 21ST

RACE RUNDOWN: Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, was left with a 25th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in what was a chaotic Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. After firing off strong from the eighth position, Cindric faced stability issues in the opening stint and reported early that the car needed to be tighter. Cindric made his first trip down pit road under green on lap 36 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. He was scored as high as sixth but slipped to the 14th position where he finished Stage 1. Cindric returned to pit road under the break for a two-tire stop as varying strategies played out and he restarted 10th. A tight condition plagued the No. 2 car early in the second segment as a plethora of cautions slowed the field over the course of Stage 2, in which Cindric finished 23rd. He managed to gain track position by taking two tires and restarted 13th on lap 173. Cindric would get close to breaking back into the top 10 before pitting under green on lap 205 for scheduled service. Unfortunately, several drivers, including Cindric would be forced to take the wave-around as a caution would come out during the cycle of pit stops. He would battle a tight race car in traffic and managed to bring home a lead lap finish of 25th at the end of 400-plus miles of racing.

CINDRIC’S THOUGHTS: “A bit frustrating to have the result considering the speed we had on Saturday with the Discount Tire Ford Mustang. We struggled to get back through the field as strategies were all over the place as the cautions fell. We got trapped a lap-down at the end of the race and had to take the wave around. It certainly was another week of showing signs of speed, but not the result to match. We’ll keep working and I feel good about some of the progress we’ve made.”

RYAN BLANEY No. 12 MENARDS/KNAUF INSULATION FORD MUSTANG

START: 7TH STAGE ONE: 6TH STAGE TWO: 3RD FINISH: 33RD POINTS: 7TH

RACE RUNDOWN: A promising day for Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Knauf Insulation Ford Mustang ended with misfortune and a 33rd-place finish in Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Blaney would roll his Ford Mustang from the seventh starting spot after a strong practice and qualifying on Saturday. Prior to the first pit stop on lap 38, Blaney would drive his way into the top-five. The first caution would wave on lap 51, which would see the Menards Ford return to pit road for additional service. Restarting eighth, Blaney would make his way back to sixth by the end of Stage 1. During the stage break crew chief Jonathan Hassler called for right side tires on the Menards Ford to gain much-coveted track position and restart as the leader. Blaney would take control of the race, before eventually settling into second place. The caution would wave with around 30 laps to go in Stage 2 and the Menards crew opted for four new Goodyear tires to reset the balance for the run to the Stage 2 finish. The remainder of the stage proved to be plagued with cautions as the tricky Texas track demonstrated to be a challenge for the drivers; regardless Blaney rallied late to finish third in Stage 2 and bring home even more valuable stage points. Unfortunately, Blaney’s day unraveled on lap 182, when he received contact from another car heading into turn 1, which caused the Menards/Knauf Insulation Ford Mustang to make hard contact with the outside wall. The crew managed to make repairs and Blaney soldiered home under power to cross the line in the 33rd position.

BLANEY’S THOUGHTS: “Not the result we wanted with our Menards/Knauf Insulation Ford Mustang. Glad we got good stage points, but bummed we didn’t have a chance to battle for the win today. Excited to get to Talladega next week.”

JOEY LOGANO No. 22 AAA INSURANCE FORD MUSTANG

START: 20TH STAGE ONE: 19TH STAGE TWO: 20TH FINISH: 11TH POINTS: 15TH

RACE RUNDOWN: It was a day of adversity for Joey Logano and the No. 22 AAA Insurance team who rallied to an 11th-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway to complete the ninth race of the NASCAR Cup Series season. The 276-lap event around the 1.5-mile Lone Star State circuit began with a nearly caution-free first Stage, although was followed by two segments filled with yellow flags and resulted in three consecutive NASCAR overtime finishes. The AAA Insurance Ford lined up on the outside row in 20th-place to begin the 400-mile quest to the finish with Logano and the No. 22 crew prioritizing their Ford Mustang’s handling in the opening sequence. Stage two shifted focus to the front, with the team capitalizing on right-side tire and fuel stops to stay competitive within the field. The segment continued with tight three-wide battles, but Logano persevered to pick up multiple positions, advancing all the way within the top 10 as varying strategies played out. The No. 22 team was to a race-high ninth place when a caution appeared with 23 laps remaining in the stage. Logano visited pit lane for service with the No. 22 crew doing quick work to replace the right-side tires and refresh the car with fuel, although an untimely pit stop from a competitor in the stall ahead of Logano resulted in interference, and a collision, causing a delay on pit road and right-side damage. The result adversely affected the AAA Insurance Ford, still it powered through to finish the caution-plagued stage in 20th. Logano was a man on a mission as the race headed toward its conclusion, he drove to 13th before green flag pit stops began. Crew chief Paul Wolfe opted to keep the AAA Insurance Ford on-track running the stage long in the hopes of catching a caution. The move paid dividends when the caution waved on lap 228. With the best track position he had all day, Logano managed to bring home an 11th place finish after a chaotic final few laps of racing.

LOGANO’S THOUGHTS: “It was a decent day all things considering. Great call by Paul [Wolfe] to run long and gain some track position back. Certainly, we want to be up there contending for wins, but you have to take what the day gives you and considering how crazy the end was, I think we did that.”

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway for Round 10 of the 2024 season on Sunday, April 21. Coverage begins at 3:00 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

RICK WARE RACING
AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400
Date: April 14, 2024
Event: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 (Round 9 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps)
Note: Race extended nine laps past its scheduled 267-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)

RWR Race Finish:

● Justin Haley (Started 32nd, Finished 24th/ Running, completed 276 of 276 laps)
● Kaz Grala (Started 33rd, Finished 27th/ Running, completed 276 of 276 laps)

RWR Points:

● Justin Haley (32nd with 98 points)
● Kaz Grala (33rd with 92 points)

RWR Notes:

● This was Haley’s fourth career start at Texas. His best finish remains third, earned in November 2022.
● This was Grala’s first start at Texas.

Race Notes:

● Chase Elliott won the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 to score his 19th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Texas.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 72 laps.
● All but seven drivers finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Texas with an 18-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“I put us in a hole early on pit road, unfortunately. Rookie mistake for a rookie. But after that we fought hard, we did everything we could and made some gains on the handling. I think all in all, we put up a good fight today. We did what we could, and we tried to hold serve, and I’m not even sure yet where we officially finished, but we got what we put out of it. I’m proud of everybody at Rick Ware Racing. They stuck with me all day even after that early mistake and we made at least a little something out of the day.” – Kaz Grala, driver of the No. 15 N29 Capital Partners Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the GEICO 500 on Sunday, April 21 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. Th

BuildSubmarines.com Ford Leads RFK, Buescher Finishes 15th in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH (April 14, 2024) – Brad Keselowski had arguably the best turnaround performance of the day Sunday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, driving from the tail of the field to a second-place finish in a chaotic NASCAR Overtime ending.

Chris Buescher stayed the course all day, utilized strategy to run inside the top-10 and even top five at one point, and ultimately finished 15th in the Fifth Third Bank Ford. The 400-mile race was extended twice as it took two NASCAR Overtime restarts to settle the finish, and in all 16 cautions flew for 72 laps in a back-and-forth afternoon.

6 Recap
Keselowski experienced and up-and-down day that fortunately ended on the upswing, as the BuildSubmarines.com Ford began the day from the 22nd spot. He finished 28th in the opening stage that saw just one yellow, before the flurry of cautions started from there.

“Honestly, I am more frustrated than anything because I feel like we have a great team and we don’t have the speed to go with it,” Keselowski said following the race. “We are doing all we can do to overcome that. The driver in me is frustrated because I feel like these are races I am good enough to win but don’t have the speed enough to do it. The owner in me is mad as hell because it is my fault for not making the cars faster.

“I am still proud of the team that we have with the pit stops and strategy and execution to put ourselves in position to get a finish we probably didn’t deserve but earned with some never-give-up spirit. It was a good job of executing with what we had. It is frustrating. You can still get good finishes by running good smart days, executing on pit road, and having great strategy and I am proud of our team for doing that today.”

Stage two had six different cautions – three of which were in a 20-lap span – as Keselowski ultimately used pit strategy to regain track position. He stayed out under yellow at lap 137 and restarted fifth with 23 to go in the segment, before going on to finish sixth.

After beginning the final stage in 19th, Keselowski eventually worked his way back to the top-10 by lap 234 and never looked back. In all, five cautions flew in the final 40 laps as Keselowski suddenly picked off positions by lap 250, advancing to third with 13 to go. He was challenging for P2 at the time of the yellow, and flipped between third and fourth as the flurry of cautions were displayed forcing NASCAR Overtime.

In the final overtime restart attempt, Keselowski put the No. 6 third and was initially credited with a third-place finish. However, after reviewing the finish, NASCAR deemed he did in fact pass the No. 24, crediting him with second.

It marks Keselowski’s third top five of the season, and best finish to date through nine races.

17 Recap
Buescher finished 17th to end the opening stage, then flipped his track position to begin stage two. He fired off third at lap 88 to begin that segment, but was hit with a pit road penalty at lap 100 under yellow.

He worked back to overcome it though, driving back to 18th to end stage two. After rolling 12th on the stage three start, he worked back into the top-10 by lap 173 and stayed there for the next 40 laps. He would pit under green at lap 208 from 12th, but was caught a lap down when the yellow was displayed at lap 227 in the midst of the pit cycle.

He worked back in the top-20 with 20 to go, and over the course of the final five cautions, slowly picked off positions to earn the top-15. He was initially scored 18th, but was later credited with 15th in the Fifth Third Ford.

Up Next
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway next weekend. Race coverage on Sunday is set for 3 p.m. ET on FS1, with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

About RFK Racing
RFK Racing, in its 37th season in 2024, features an ownership lineup pairing one of the sport’s most iconic names, Jack Roush, along with NASCAR Champion, Brad Keselowski, and Fenway Sports Group owner John Henry. Roush initially founded the team in 1988 and it has since become one of the most successful racing operations in the world, propelling him to be the first NASCAR owner to amass three hundred wins and capturing eight championships, including back-to-back NASCAR Cup titles in 2003 and 2004. Keselowski, a former owner in the NASCAR Truck Series, is the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series Champion. In 2007, Roush partnered with Henry, who also owns Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox, English Premier League’s Liverpool F.C., and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, to form Roush Fenway Racing. Off the track, RFK is a leader and proven winner in NASCAR marketing solutions, having produced multiple award-winning social media, digital content and experiential marketing campaigns. Visit rfkracing.com, and follow the team on all social platforms @rfkracing.

Strong Eighth-Place Finish for Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet Team at Texas Motor Speedway

Finish: 8th
Start: 15th
Points: 28th

“I’m just really happy for the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevy team. That was a big finish for us, and I am proud of the fight that our guys showed. To come home with an eighth-place finish is big because we had struggled with the handling of the car throughout the race. We made some good calls to get us some track position, and we had some good restarts at the end to get us a good finish. After the year we’ve had so far, this feels like a win and hopefully we can build off of this.” -Austin Dillon

Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone Chevrolet Team Use Strategy to Score Top-10 Finish at Texas Motor Speedway

Finish: 9th
Start: 35th
Points: 16th

“It was cool to end up with a decent finish today at Texas Motor Speedway after we had to go to a backup car on Saturday. All the guys on the zone Chevrolet team really worked hard all weekend and I really appreciate that effort. We made a lot of stops today and crew chief Randall Burnett and the guys made adjustments every time we pitted. The balance was a little bit of everything, from tight to loose to a lack of grip. Randall made the call to run long in the final stage and we caught a caution in the middle of a pit cycle to get in position to score a top-10. We survived the last few restarts and came away with a ninth place finish so not a bad day.” -Kyle Busch

Mechanical Issue Ends Strong Run for Austin Hill and the No. 33 United Rentals Chevrolet Team at Texas Motor Speedway

Finish: 38th
Start: 34th
Points: N/A

“I really hate that our race ended early today at Texas Motor Speedway. Our United Rentals Chevrolet was pretty solid and track position and clean air were so important. The strategy that crew chief Keith Rodden called should have worked out in our favor with the amount of cautions that flew once we went to the garage. The No. 33 team tried to fix the mechanical issue, but unfortunately, there was something wrong in the steering. The most important thing was not to wreck the car before our next race together. Driving the Cup car is so different compared to the Xfinity car though, so I was learning on the fly. I would have loved to finish the race and see where we could have ended up. Overall, I’m proud of this Richard Childress Racing crew and we will come back again soon. I appreciate United Rentals and RCR for the opportunity to run this race.” -Austin Hill

STEWART-HAAS RACING
AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400
Date: April 14, 2024
Event: AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 (Round 9 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/85 laps/102 laps)
Note: Race extended nine laps past its scheduled 267-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Race Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing (Chevrolet)

SHR Finish:

● Chase Briscoe (Started 5th, Finished 6th / Running, completed 276 of 276 laps)
● Ryan Preece (Started 26th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 276 of 276 laps)
● Noah Gragson (Started 21st, Finished 18th / Running, completed 276 of 276 laps)
● Josh Berry (Started 25th, Finished 36th / Accident, completed 136 of 276 laps)

SHR Points:

● Chase Briscoe (12th with 231 points, 105 out of first)
● Ryan Preece (24th with 137 points, 199 out of first)
● Josh Berry (27th with 130 points, 206 out of first)
● Noah Gragson (29th with 122 points, 214 out of first)

SHR Notes:

● Briscoe earned his fourth top-10 of the season and his third top-10 in four career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas.
● This was Briscoe’s best finish so far this year. His previous best was ninth, earned March 10 at Phoenix Raceway.
● This was Briscoe’s second straight top-10. He finished 10th last Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
● This was Briscoe’s fourth straight top-15 at Texas and his third straight top-10 at the 1.5-mile oval. In his past four NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas, Briscoe has finished 15th, fifth, 10th and sixth.
● Briscoe finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points and fifth in Stage 2 to earn six more bonus points.
● Preece earned his third top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in eight career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Texas.
● Preece’s 12th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Texas – 18th, earned in October 2020.
● This was Gragson’s third straight top-20. He finished 12th March 31 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and 20th last Sunday at Martinsville.
● Gragson’s 18th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Texas – 21st, earned in September 2022.

Race Notes:

● Chase Elliott won the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 to score his 19th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Texas.
● There were 16 caution periods for a total of 72 laps.
● All but seven drivers finished on the lead lap.
● Kyle Larson remains the championship leader after Texas with an 18-point advantage over second-place Martin Truex Jr.

Sound Bites:

“Our car was really good. We were able to finish fifth in both stages and we’d done everything perfect up until the point of the spin. We were going to be the race leader. The 23 (Bubba Wallace) was on way older tires. We both went into turn one so hard and then the 21 (Harrison Burton) took us three-wide and we both just kind of wrecked. We got lucky at the end with the cautions. Our Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang was really, really good today. Way better than sixth place. I feel like I keep saying the same thing, but man, it’s frustrating where we finish because we’re way better speed-wise. Overall, just a really solid day and a really solid points day. I feel like our win is right around the corner.” – Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“Ultimately, I wish the cautions would’ve worked out a little different. Once we had the 8 (Kyle Busch) and 22 (Joey Logano) cars behind us, it was a struggle to keep from being put three-wide. Having as old of tires as we did, I was just trying to protect my position. When I restarted on the outside that last time, it was just too much to handle and we dropped out of the top-10.” – Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“It felt like we had a good car. We were going to cycle fifth, sixth or seventh during that one round of green-flag pit stops and just got stuck a lap down with the caution that came out. That happened a couple of times, so we had to fight and come from the back a couple of times today with those scenarios. Overall, we had a top-10 run going all day and just didn’t come home with it.” – Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Overstock.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse

“We were going to run fine. We were almost in the top-10. I felt like the car was pretty good. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) made good calls there on the strategy to keep tires on it. The first time I felt like we got stacked on the bottom a little bit and when the 47 (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) moved down, either he barely clipped me or just the air off his car was the problem. It was super close. Honestly, I think we made a little bit of contact and it just got me loose and out of control. The second time I was just out there riding around and I was just out there loose and trying to hang on to it and wrecked again.” – Josh Berry, driver of the No. 4 Miner Ford Mustang Dark Horse

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the GEICO 500 on Sunday, April 21 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. The race begins at 3 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

TY DILLON
No. 16 Sea Best Camaro ZL1

• Ty Dillon qualified 36th for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Dillon and the Sea Best Camaro ZL1 gained three positions on the initial start, before radioing that he was loose in the rear on lap 18. He climbed as high as fourth, as the field cycled for green-flag pit stops. Dillon pitted on lap 40 for four tires, fuel and a rear track-bar adjustment and sat 37th when the first caution of the day came out on lap 51. Dillon reported he was loose in turns three and four before pitting under caution for four tires, fuel and a front adjustment to improve handling. The No. 16 restarted in the 36th position and one lap down, before finishing the opening stage in 37th place.
• The No. 16 pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments during the stage break and restarted 35th and one lap down. Dillon pitted for four tires, fuel and another front adjustment, before restarting from the 34th position when the second caution of the day came out on lap 100. The No. 16 took the Lucky Dog shortly after on lap 113 during the third caution, regaining the lead lap. Electing to stay out, the No. 16 gained six positions and restarted 27th. The fourth caution of the day came out on lap 120, and Dillon pitted once again for tires, fuel and a left-rear adjustment. The next caution came out on lap 120, and the No. 16 pitted for four tires and fuel, before going green for only one lap. Dillon stayed out before going on to finish stage two in 32nd.
• Dillon started the final stage from 16th and stayed out during the seventh caution on lap 172. The No. 16 pitted on lap 181 for four tires and fuel during the next caution, restarting 29th. As the field began to make green flag-pit stops, the No. 16 climbed as high as 11th before the ninth caution hit on lap 227, allowing the No. 16 to pit for four tires, fuel and rear adjustments. Dillon went on to restart 15th with 33 laps to go. The 10th caution of the day came out on lap 253, as the No. 16 elected to stay out for track position, restarting 16th before the 11th caution on lap 259. It took the field two attempts at overtime before Dillon went on to earn a 16th-place finish.

“We battled through most of the day in the Sea Best Camaro ZL1. We weren’t where we wanted to be most of the day, but thankfully Travis Mack made a few good calls to help us gain track position and finish strong there at the end. This team never gave up and I can’t wait to get back in the car with Kaulig Racing.” – Ty Dillon  

DANIEL HEMRIC
No. 31 South Point Camaro ZL1

• Daniel Hemric qualified 38th for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Hemric’s No. 31 South Point Camaro ZL1 handled tight, as he navigated through dirty air in stage one. He made it as high as fifth place as green-flag pit stops began. The first caution of the day came out on lap 51, as Hemric sat sixth. He pitted under caution for a major adjustment to help free up the car. He restarted 14th on lap 55 and went on to finish the opening stage in 15th.
• Hemric radioed that the No. 31 handled better, but was still tight in traffic. He pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment during the stage break, before starting the second stage in 18th. The next caution came out on lap 101, as Hemric sat 21st. He pitted under caution for tires and fuel before restarting 23rd. The next caution came out on lap 114, and crew chief, Trent Owens, made the call to pit again for tires, as some were on a fuel-only strategy. The field went back to green for only two laps before another caution came out. Hemric stayed out and restarted 25th with 40 laps remaining in stage two. Another caution fell on lap 137, and Hemric pitted for qualifying tires and a major adjustment to help the front-handling of the No. 31 Chevy. The field went back to green for only one lap, as the next caution came out on lap 143. Hemric stayed out once again and restarted 31st on lap 149. He went on to finish the second stage in 31st.
• During the second stage break, Hemric pitted for four tires and fuel before starting the final stage in 29th. A caution came out just after the restart, before going back to green with 90 laps remaining. Hemric sat 26th, as yet another caution came out with 86 laps to go. He stayed out and restarted 26th with 83 laps to go. After a long, green-flag run, the next caution came out on lap 228, as Hemric sat 10th. He pitted for four tires, fuel and adjustments for the No. 31 South Point Chevy. He restarted 16th on lap 235. The next caution came out on lap 254. Hemric radioed that the No. 31 Chevy took off better but still struggled in dirty air. He made his final pit stop of the day under caution for right-side tires and fuel before restarting 21st with eight laps remaining. The next caution came out on the restart, as Hemric narrowly avoided a wreck in front of him. He restarted 18th with two laps to go before another caution came out on the restart. Hemric restarted 20th in the first overtime attempt, but another wreck forced a second overtime. Hemric went on to finish 20th.

“Thanks to Michael Gaughan, everyone at South Point, and all of our supporters at Kaulig Racing for sticking with us. It’s not been thrilling or exciting the last few weeks, but at the end of the day we’ve managed a couple times this year to finish better than we raced. That’s what we did here today. I’m proud of Trent [Owens] for making the call to take two tires there and getting some track position. I need to do a better job on restarts; we had a couple go our way there at the end, especially that last one. I’m proud of the fight from this No. 31 team today.” – Daniel Hemric  

 

About Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing™ is a full-time multi-car NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) and NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) team, owned by award winning entrepreneur, Matt Kaulig. Established in 2016, Kaulig Racing™ has made the NXS Playoffs consecutively each season since the playoff system started and has won back-to-back regular-season championships. Before becoming a full-time NCS team, Kaulig Racing made multiple starts in the 2021 NCS season and won in its seventh-ever start with AJ Allmendinger’s victory at “The Brickyard” for the Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The team expanded to a two-car, full-time NCS team in 2022 and added a third, part-time entry during the 2023 season. In 2024, the team will once again field two, full-time entries in the NCS and continue to field three, full-time NXS entries. To learn more about the team, visit kauligracing.com.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE REPORT
APRIL 14, 2024

Elliott Caps Off Chevrolet’s Third Tripleheader Sweep of the 2024 NASCAR Season

• Chase Elliott became Team Chevy’s fourth different winner of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, taking the manufacturer to its series-leading sixth victory in nine points-paying races.
• The victory marked Elliott’s first NASCAR Cup Series win of the season, and the Team Chevy driver’s 19th all-time victory in 295 starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
• The victory is Chevrolet’s series-leading 18th NASCAR Cup Series victory at Texas Motor Speedway, with Elliott extending the manufacturer’s NCS win streak to four-straight at the 1.5-mile Texas oval.
• Elliott led Chevrolet to a season-high six top-10 finishers in the NASCAR Cup Series’ ninth points-paying race of the season – earned by drivers from four different Chevrolet organizations.
• Elliott’s victory capped off a weekend sweep for Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway, with Team Chevy’s Kyle Busch earning the victory in Friday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race and Sam Mayer claiming the victory in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
• Chevrolet’s trio of victories at Texas Motor Speedway marks the manufacturer’s third tripleheader weekend sweep of the 2024 NASCAR season – extending its record as the only manufacturer to accomplish the feat thus far this season.
• With 24 races complete across NASCAR’s three national series this season, Chevrolet has a winning percentage of 66.7% with 16 victories (NASCAR Cup Series – six wins; NASCAR Xfinity Series – four wins; NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – six wins).
• The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Talladega Superspeedway with the GEICO 500 on Sunday, April 21, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 
TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10:
POS. DRIVER
1st Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hooters Camaro ZL1
3rd William Byron, No. 24 Liberty University Camaro ZL1
5th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Kubota Camaro ZL1
8th Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Camaro ZL1
9th Kyle Busch, No. 8 Zone Camaro ZL1
10th Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Premier Security Camaro ZL1

 
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 HOOTERS CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 1st

Chase Elliott, the 42-race drought is over. You did everything just right. How does it feel?

“Oh, man, couldn’t feel any better. First off, thanks to everybody that came out today. You guys are unbelievable.

Hooters has been a partner of ours for a number of years now. It’s been a dream of mine to pay respect to the late Alan Kulwicki. Driving this car to a victory and do a Polish victory lap – just really crazy how things came full circle there in that moment. It was pretty emotional for me. He beat dad back in the day. Here we are sharing his sponsor and having an opportunity to win today.

Man, couldn’t be more grateful for this journey and kind of the path that hasn’t always been fun, but certainly have enjoyed working with our guys. We’ve been working really hard and really well together. Like I said, hasn’t always been fun, but we’ve enjoyed the fight together.”

You mentioned you have been fighting together. Today it was a fight on the racetrack. That race looked like it was crazy to drive. How intense was it on the track?

“It was just crazy. This place is so sketchy. I haven’t seen a replay of Denny (Hamlin) and us. I didn’t feel like I did anything super crazy there any more than anybody’s ever done to me. Just had to run forward. I want to look at it. I didn’t feel like I did anything to crash him. I think just the circumstances. But nonetheless, apologies to him, if so.

Couldn’t be more proud of our team. Thanks to our partners at NAPA, Chevrolet. Everybody at Hendrick Motorsports. Had a big week last week. Boss, thank you for sticking with me. Really, really proud of this. Appreciate all the folks back home that have stuck with me and helped us get back on track.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 2nd

TELL US ABOUT THE CLOSING LAPS OF THAT AND WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BACKSTRETCH WITH YOU AND CHASTAIN.

“I just had a big run. Ross (Chastain) and I race really well, and I didn’t want to wreck him there, but he blocked me late, which is understood. It’s racing at the end, but I was already there and unfortunately, we made enough contact to where it got him squirrelly and it happened. So, I hate that that happened, but it’s the last lap and I had the run so I am going to just take the run. I didn’t expect it, but I don’t want to do that to a fellow Chevy guy, and we always race really well.

Happy for Chase (Elliott) and those guys. They did a great job; executed really well and had a good car. Our No. 24 Liberty University Chevy, we struggled all day and had to fight tooth and nail all day just to keep our track position. We just had a few restarts go our way at the end.”

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 KUBOTA CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 5th

LOT OF OVERTIME RESTARTS AND YOU HAD TO FIGHT YOUR WAY TO GET UP THERE. WHAT WAS THIS RACE LIKE FOR YOU?

“It was tricky. I thought we were going to be pretty strong, and we were pretty good in the first run. Then in the first green-flag cycle, I don’t know what happened to the car because we were super loose. And then after that, we started making adjustments and we got the car better. We started making progress and we got a penalty, and we went to the back again. We started making progress and we had another bad pit stop. It was just not a very clean day at all. It was a good result at the end of the day because the strategy worked out good, and we got a couple of good restarts. But we have some work to do. We have to continue to in order to move forward.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 8th

“Just happy for the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevy team. That was a big finish for us, and I am proud of the fight that our guys showed. To come home with eighth is big because we had struggled with the handling of the car. We made some good calls to get us some track position, and we had some good restarts at the end to get us a good finish. Man, after this year, this feels like a win and hopefully we can build off of this.”

DANIEL HEMRIC, NO. 31 SOUTH POINT HOTEL AND CASINO CAMARO ZL1

Finished: 17th

“Thanks to Michael Gaughan, everyone at South Point, and all of our supporters at Kaulig Racing for sticking with us. It’s not been thrilling or exciting the last few weeks, but at the end of the day we’ve managed a couple times this year to finish better than we raced. That’s what we did here today. I’m proud of Trent [Owens] for making the call to take two tires there and getting some track position. I need to do a better job on restarts; we had a couple go our way there at the end, especially that last one. I’m proud of the fight from this No. 31 team today.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident in Stage Two

Finished: 37th

Could you tell what happened?

“Really what started it was what happened on pit road and getting buried back there. We should have been up in the top-10. But yeah, we were just racing those guys really hard. I was in a really bad spot to have a guy crash and have to climb into the brake pedal. The No. 22 (Joey Logano) saw it before I did, just because of how we were all stacked up. I had to climb into the brake pedal a little bit harder than I wanted to, and it just spun out as soon as I did.

Definitely a bummer. We had a really fast No. 48 Ally Camaro there in the beginning of the first stage. We were going through the field pretty well. We just had that deal on pit road that put us in the back, and then that happened.”

Are you feeling OK?

“Yeah, it was pretty minor, damage-wise. Just how we got hit, there was no good way to fix it.”

AUSTIN HILL, NO. 33 UNITED RENTALS CAMARO ZL1

Sidelined by a mechanical issue in Stage Two.

Finished: 38th

“Really hate our race ended early today at Texas Motor Speedway. Our United Rentals Chevrolet was pretty solid and track position and clean air were so important. The strategy that Keith (Rodden, crew chief) called should have worked out in our favor with the amount of cautions that flew once we went to the garage. The No. 33 team tried to fix the mechanical issue, but unfortunately, there was something wrong in the steering. The most important thing was not to wreck the car before our next race together. Driving the Cup car is so different compared to the Xfinity car though, so I was learning on the fly. I would have loved to finish the race and see where we could have ended up. Overall, just proud of this Richard Childress Racing crew and we will come back again soon. Appreciate United Rentals and RCR for the opportunity to run this race.”

 
 

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.